Resigning Samaritan CEO receives severance package

MOSES LAKE - Outgoing Samaritan Healthcare Chief Executive Officer Andrew Bair will receive payments through his severance package and continuation of health insurance benefits through August 2013, according to a resolution approved by the board at its regular meeting Thursday.

Bair also will receive a bonus for 2011 in the amount of 30 percent of his base salary. The provisions will go into effect Aug. 8, the day after Bair's resignation is official.

The board also voted to offer a contract to one of two candidates for the position of interim CEO, but declined to name the person until both candidates were notified.

A visibly emotional Bair read a letter at the meeting, thanking the board for giving him the opportunity. A registered nurse and veteran of the industry, Bair said he's done lots of gratifying work over his career, but the CEO's job was the most rewarding. Bair said he doesn't know where he's going after he leaves Samaritan, but he won't forget the hospital. "I will always be grateful," he said.

The board approved a resolution thanking Bair for his work, citing the fact the hospital lost money in 2009, the year Bair was hired, but is operating at a profit in 2012. The resolution also said Bair had worked to keep hospital equipment up to date and technology and information systems current.

In other business, chief financial officer Tom Legel reported that the hospital finished June with an operating profit, even though patient volumes were some of the lowest of the last 18 months.

Gross revenue was 11 percent below budget projections, Legel said, and expenses were 4 percent below budget. Hospital staff did a good job of adjusting to the lower patient census, he said.

Board members discussed the monthly survey that indicated patient satisfaction was dropping in the case of the hospital's surgical services, but improving in the case of the emergency room.

Bair said there was a paradox in the survey data, people were satisfied with the care they received, but dissatisfied with their stay. The hospital is instituting new policies encouraging nurses to talk with patients about their care. At shift changes, both the oncoming and outgoing nurses will visit patients.